Activist Anatol Mătăsaru sentenced again

The well-known activist Anatol Mătăsaru, was sentenced on Tuesday, January 10th, to four years in prison with a probation period of five years for hooliganism, after insisting on Râşcani District Court to release the decision taken in a controversial case in October of 2013.

The man pleads not guilty and claims that this is yet another revenge of the law enforcement authorities, for his "unusual" way to protest against corruption in the courts.

The magistrate of Botanica District Court from the capital, Gheorghe Balan, stated that Mătăsaru’s actions “are extremely impertinent” and that he called the Riscani Court magistrates indecent names and expressions and even cursed at them which, “demonstratively violets the rights of the people holding constitutional positions”. According to the sentence, the defendant resorted to such means intentionally, so that the general public will find out about his activities.

Anatol Mătăsaru rejects all the accusations and claims that he didn’t curse at the magistrates and didn’t call them indecent names. He only asked them to respect his right, being a party in a criminal case, “I was five minutes late to the trial because of the traffic jam. The court reserved 30 minutes to prosecute the case. When I entered the judge's office Iurie Potâng, he told me that he had already examined the dossier and had taken a decision. Then I asked him to release his decision under the law, but he raised his voice at me and chased me out of his office. I have not used indecent expressions. I just asked him why he would behave like a lout, as that is how he behaved, in my opinion. I filmed the whole incident, but I did not use indecent expressions or force.”

Mătăsaru also says that he filed a complaint on Potângă at the Superior Council of Magistracy, but his request was rejected. “They are working all together and they are defending one another as much as they can. That is why the magistrates behave like that. The prosecutor Nicu Şendrea is well known for manufacturing criminal cases on hooliganism, on the name of different activist,” Mătăsaru concluded.

Anatol Mătăsaru became known in 2008, after having marched with a slogan on his car saying "Stop bribing patrol police". In March of 2015, the Rîşcani District Court sentenced Mătăsaru to two years on probation for hooliganism, for protesting outside the General Prosecutor’s Office with a two meters mock of a phallus, on which a picture of the former leader of the Democratic Party, Marian Lupu was pasted. The sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and Mătăsaru complained to the ECHR.

In 2015, the Buiucani Prosecutor's Office has also filed a criminal case against Anatol Mătăsaru ,for a protest outside the Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office. The activist was sitting on a toilet, and then left a feces mock-up at the door of the isntitution. The case is pending at the Buiucani District Court.

Anatol Mătăsarul was listed as a victim in a criminal case on the torture from April of 2009. The file is still in the trial court, and one of the accused was recently appointed the head of Prison No. 13 from Chisinau.